Phugpa, Bon, and Rebkong losars. List of months
Last time, we analyzed how to determine the gyalpo losar or the date of the New year according to the Tibetan calendar relatively easily, with a basic knowledge of astronomy or the ability to use the Internet. Today we will talk about how to celebrate the new year in other traditions. In particular, we will talk about the traditions of Phugpa, Bon and Rebkong. This is due to the fact that they usually celebrate the New year in a different month, as well as the fact that the structure of the months may be different. We will discuss all this in more detail later.
First, a little background on why you will have to do additional calculations. If you carefully start studying the texts, you will notice that losars in these traditions are celebrated at different times. So in the Phugpa tradition, it is customary to talk about losar in the 11th lunar month of the Tibetan calendar. In the traditions of Rebkong and Bon, we can talk about the twelfth month of the Tibetan lunar calendar.
But if we also look at the structure of the months, we may notice another oddity. So the tradition of Phugpa and the tradition of the beginning of the year with Gyalpo Losar-coincide with the structure of the months by numbering and names. That is, for example, the eleventh Tibetan month in both cases is called the month of the Tiger. But if we are talking about the Bon and Rebkong traditions, then the beginning of the year is indicated as the month of the Tiger, that is, the twelfth month of the Tibetan lunar calendar in these traditions is called the month of the Tiger. And as a result, we can get errors and inconsistencies when comparing different traditions.
To determine the dates of the celebration according to other traditions, we can go in two ways. One path involves defining a list of months for the previous year, starting with gyalpo losar.
The second method will be simpler, we can simply count the beginning of the eleventh and twelfth months preceding gyalpo losar. But here it is necessary to take into account that an additional month can be any in the year (at least the first, as in 2019, at least the 11th or 12th). In cases where the eleventh or twelfth month of the past year is not additional, there will be no problems. But if one of them was an additional one, then there may be some minor difficulties.
So. What will be the sequence of actions for determining losars?
Rebkong and Bon
1. First, we determine the number of the month and the date of gyalpo-losar for the required year according to the Gregorian calendar (we perform all the operations that were performed last time to determine gyalpo-losar up to point 14, we will not need the rest)
2. Take the number of the month (data from point 12 of the calculations for gyalpo losar)
3. Determine the number of additional months that have passed from the base date (calculation as in paragraph 5)
4. From the month number, subtract one to go to the definition of losar by Rebkong
5. Determine the number of additional months that have passed from the base date (calculation as in paragraph 5)
6. If the number does not match the number of additional months for gyalpo-losar, subtract 1.
7. Now we determine approximately the date of the onset of losar (as in the definition of dates for gyalpo-losar, starting from point 13)
Phugpa
1. First, we determine the number of the month and the date of gyalpo-losar for the required year according to the Gregorian calendar (we perform all the operations that were performed last time to determine gyalpo-losar up to point 14, we will not need the rest)
2. Take the number of the month (data from point 12 of the calculations for gyalpo losar)
3. Determine the number of additional months that have passed from the base date (calculation as in paragraph 5)
4. From the month number, use the deuce to go to the definition of losar by Rebkong
5. Determine the number of additional months that have passed from the base date (calculation as in paragraph 5)
6. If the number does not match the number of additional months for gyalpo-losar, subtract 1.
7. Now we determine approximately the date of the onset of losar (as in the definition of dates for gyalpo-losar, starting from point 13)
We will repeat all the steps for the next years: 1992, 2011, 2019, 2021, 2030.
Gyalpo-losar calculation
| 1992 | 2011 | 2019 | 2021 | 2030 | |
| 1 | -1040550,3932 | -1040550,3932 | -1040550,3932 | -1040550,3932 | -1040550,3932 |
| 2 | 48743 | 55682 | 58604 | 59335 | 62622 |
| 3 | 1089293,3932 | 1096232,3932 | 1099154,3932 | 1099885,3932 | 1103172,3932 |
| 4 | 36887 | 37122 | 37221 | 37246 | 37357 |
| 5 | 1101 | 1108 | 1111 | 1111 | 1115 |
| 6 | 35786 | 36014 | 36110 | 36135 | 36242 |
| 7 | 2982 | 3001 | 3009 | 3011 | 3020 |
| 8 | 35784 | 36012 | 36108 | 36132 | 36240 |
| 9 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 10 | 36885 | 37120 | 37219 | 37244 | 37355 |
| 11 | 1101 | 1108 | 1110 | 1111 | 1115 |
| 12 | 36885 | 37120 | 37218 | 37244 | 37355 |
| 13 | 48685,34518 | 55625,03336 | 58519,030984 | 59286,826272 | 62564,72154 |
| 14 | 4.03.1992 | 5.03.2011 | 5.02.2019 | 13.03.2021 | 4.03.2030 |
Calculation according to the Rebkong (and Bon) tradition)
| 1992 | 2011 | 2019 | 2021 | 2030 | |
| 2 | 36885 | 37120 | 37218 | 37244 | 37355 |
| 3 | 1101 | 1108 | 1110 | 1111 | 1115 |
| 4 | 36884 | 37119 | 37217 | 37243 | 37354 |
| 5 | 1100 | 1108 | 1110 | 1111 | 1115 |
| 6 | 36883 | 37119 | 37217 | 37243 | 37354 |
| 7 | 48626,284004 | 55595,502772 | 58489,500396 | 59257,295684 | 62535,190952 |
| 8 | 5.01.1992 | 3.02.2011 | 6.01.2019 | 12.02.2021 | 3.02.2030 |
Calculation according to the Phugpa tradition
| 1992 | 2011 | 2019 | 2021 | 2030 | |
| 2 | 36885 | 37120 | 37218 | 37244 | 37355 |
| 3 | 1101 | 1108 | 1110 | 1111 | 1115 |
| 4 | 36883 | 37118 | 37216 | 37242 | 37353 |
| 5 | 1100 | 1107 | 1110 | 1111 | 1114 |
| 6 | 36882 | 37117 | 37216 | 37242 | 37352 |
| 7 | 48596,753416 | 55536,441596 | 58459,969808 | 59227,765096 | 62476,129776 |
| 8 | 6.12.1991 | 6.12.2010 | 7.12.2018 | 13.01.2021 | 6.12.2029 |
Items from the 9th to the 11th we will not consider. But some points that are visible in these tables should be explained.
In 1992, two months passed between Gyalpo-losar and Losar of Rebkong. This is due to the fact that the twelfth month was doubled. Therefore, there was an additional offset of one month. At the same time, the Phugpa losar is shifted correctly relative to the Rebkong losar.
In 2011, you can see the difference between losar Rebkong (and Bon) and Phugpa for two months. This was due to the fact that the eleventh month was doubled. And the actual losar came, according to the Phugpa, in the first eleventh month. The same story will be repeated in 2030.
In the calculations for 2019 and 2021, there are no such problems and they were chosen to show that in normal cases, the difference between the dates of losars is about one calendar month.